Originally posted by Steven It's a cesspool.  Trust me.  I live here. Anyone who tells you that it's "vibrant" must be feeling the vibrations of riding on a moto on the horrible roads.

About the best description of São Paulo EVER

You can also feel the vibration when busses and trucks drive close by.

Originally posted by carlos7767 Why do you live there then if it's that bad?

I've had the luxury of "having to live" in São Paulo and Manaus for work. I hate both cities. The only thing I really loved about São Paulo whas that every friday I could fly back to Rio to relax. Manaus was just to far away and thus too expensive.

It's really hard to find people that where not born in São Paulo that will state that they "love São Paulo" and even then, most Paulistas leave the city the first oportunity they get to leave for the coast or the mountains.

When yu fly into Rio, you know you're arriving when you see the beaches, chirst or the sugar loaf. When flying into São Paulo you know you are close when you see a huge dark greyish cloud.

Originally posted by davidiko We presently live in Fortaleza. Obviously SP has more and better shops, restaurants, theatres, career and educational opportunities

Yep, I agree with you. "obviously" better shops,restaurants,career and educational opportunities and also as you mentioned "work reasons". Welcome to Sao Paulo

Edited by brazileirinha - 27 January 2009 at 11:13

Originally posted by frank4000 well that is where the money is so that's where i will be.

Sven, if you saw my citation I used Wikipedia for my info, which I pointed out in the text, 10.5 Million? That Census was in 2007, How many people you think immigrated since then (from abroad and from the Northeast) and remember those numbers are "legal" numbers, people who have registered their RG & RNE in Sampa.

Bahaina, you live in the United States, you don't walk the street as I do every day, sure there are kidnappings and muggings but that happens in any city of this size!

You guys can sl*g Sampa off as much as you like, but I still like it here. Ya fly to Rio, its paradise, thats why its the second most dangerous city in the world next to Johannesburg (South Africa), go for a walk on the beach as a gringo end up in Intensive Care( That happened last week), have so much crime in the favela's that they create a special police force just to combat the violent crime in them!

Paradise! Oh how I wish I could live there

Edited by noodle456 - 27 January 2009 at 12:37